Gloves were used inappropriately 42 percent of the time in six hospital wards, according to a study in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control.
Researchers observed the use of clinical gloves in six wards and deemed glove use as appropriate if there was a potential for contact with blood or body fluid. The researchers defined a risk of cross-contamination as a violation of at least one of the World Health Organization's "Five Moments of Hand Hygiene" during glove use.
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Fifty-eight percent of glove use was appropriate. Thirty-nine percent of glove-use episodes presented a risk of cross-contamination, meaning that hand hygiene was not followed completely more than one-third of the time healthcare workers wore gloves. There was a greater likelihood of cross-contamination risk when gloves were used inappropriately. In addition, healthcare workers did not perform hand hygiene after removing gloves one-third of the time, according to the study.
The authors suggested glove use should be integrated more effectively into hand hygiene policy.
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